Chemical-resistant gloves: EN 374 types A, B and C
What EN 374 covers
EN 374 is the European standard for gloves that protect against dangerous chemicals and micro-organisms. It separates products into three types by how many test chemicals they withstand and for how long.
Type A, B and C
Type A gloves resist at least six test chemicals with a breakthrough time of 30 minutes or more each. Type B resists at least three, and Type C resists one test chemical for at least 10 minutes. The higher the type, the broader the protection.
Three different measurements
Chemical gloves are judged on three things: penetration (liquid passing through pinholes or seams), permeation (chemical diffusing through the material at molecular level, measured as breakthrough time), and degradation (the material physically breaking down). A glove can pass penetration yet have a short permeation time for a given chemical.
Matching polymer to chemical
There is no universal chemical glove. Nitrile suits oils, greases and many solvents; neoprene handles a range of acids and bases; butyl is used for ketones and esters; PVC suits acids and bases but not solvents; and Viton/fluoroelastomer handles chlorinated and aromatic solvents. Match the polymer to the specific chemical and concentration.
Tests conducted: EN 374
How Mallcom tests its products to this standard.
Micro-organisms (EN 374-2)
The standard EN 374-2 specifies a test method for the penetration resistance of gloves protecting against chemical products and/or microorganism when the gloves resist penetration, they are tested according to this part of EN374-2, and they provide an effective barrier against microbiological risks
Chemicals (EN 374-3)
The standard EN374-3 involves the determination of the resistance of the materials making up the gloves to permeation by non-gaseous chemical product which are potentially hazardous in case of continued contact. Emphasis is therefore placed on the fact that this does not take into account conditions which are likely to be encountered actual working conditions. It is therefore recommended to only use the test results, which have basically relative values, to compare the materials on the basis of the major categories of passage of time.